January 29, 2007 - page 2



We had seen the volcano during lunch the previous day, decided it had looked at us wrong, and that we needed to dominate it the next morning. So, we did. After two and a half hours of uphill hiking underneath the softly lit moon, we had ascended the 1717-meter volcano. The sunrise definitely looks better when you’re a mile above sea level. At approximately 6:30, the sun rose over the nearby island of Lombok, only separated by a small channel connecting the Bali Sea and the Indian Ocean. Notably, only a week prior to our arrival this waterway claimed the lives of 400 individuals, when a ferry

crashed during a dangerous storm. Atop the volcano, we found it easy to understand the intense respect the Balinese people have for nature. They have also learned to use the ecotourism to their advantage. For instance, our guide Peter (I’m guessing not his real name) wanted to make us breakfast. We were amazed to find that he didn’t cook us a regular breakfast. In fact, he cooked hard-boiled eggs, underneath dirt, in a steam vent. Honestly, I didn’t see that coming, but who really expects sulfur to be a good marinade. Altogether, this experience was to be my most memorable from the trip, and most likely, for the rest of my life.